AGE NO BARRIER FOR THESE NONAGENARIANS

Pialba Bowls Club players, Alan Wilson (91) and Bruce Woodrow (90), recently called out for bowlers over the age of 90 from other Queensland clubs to come forward.

Alan and Bruce have been playing bowls every Tuesday for the past 10 years, and in Alan’s words, are “not showing any signs of easing up”. Mackay Bowls Club and Across the Waves in Caloundra answered the call and have shared stories about their nonagenarians Albert Wicks, Alf Padgen and Mona Townsend from Mackay and Sunshine Coast’s Brian Barrett.

Mackay Bowls Club

Albert Wicks, our oldest active member at 93, was originally a member at Brothers but has been at Mackay Club for the past 25 years. Albert regularly plays social Triples on Tuesdays using his original bowls with only a walking stick for balance.

Besides being a past committee member for a number of years, Albert’s previous bowling achievements include Club Pairs, Triples Champion, Senior Singles Champion as well as District Finalist in Pairs and Triples.

Albert’s experience and knowledge is invaluable for all bowlers, especially at Annual General Meetings.

Alf Padgen at 90 years of age has been playing lawn bowls for more than 40 years after originally starting at Gargett.

Nowadays, Alf is a dual member at Mackay and West Tigers, but regularly teams up with Albert on Tuesdays to revive their bowling achievements as partners in District Pairs and Triples Championships.

While Alf is deadly with his bowling arm he always encourages novice bowlers in the finer points of bowling techniques.

Mona Townsend turned 90 in June and still plays at carnivals, PAHs and club competitions. Her achievements include Club Championship Fours, Triples, Pairs and Consistency Singles.

Mona’s most memorable bowls moment was skipping the Club Championship Triples team, which included the youngest, oldest and newest member of the club, to success.

Her contribution as a member of the Ladies Pennant Division One team continues to this day. It is only now that Mona is contemplating learning to use a bowling arm to lessen her shoulder pain.

Mona is a tireless worker and is always there to assist in the running of raffles and cent sales, taking her turn as afternoon tea hostess and until recently held the committee position of Match Chair.

Across The Waves

Brian Barrett is a sportsman through and through. Before becoming an avid bowler, he played hockey, tennis, took up cycling and had a custom made bike, was a keen sailor and built his own 14ft sailboat.

He also played social golf and, according to Brian, he was a frustrated golfer, so bowls was the next option. He first played bowls in 1982 at Jindalee, went on to Salisbury and then Aspley where he was a coach, umpire and wrote a column in the newsletter every issue.

Brian plays bowls an average of five times a week and now uses a bowling arm so he can continue playing. He’s a formidable opponent and has won B singles and was runner-up to Peter Johnson in the A singles 2019.

Brian enjoys all disciplines of bowls but confesses fours are his least favourite. When asked what his five year plan is, he replied: “to live” and also “to compete in everything I can”.

Contributed by Carole McDonald

The Queensland Bowler magazine would be happy to receive any more stories on bowlers over the age of 90 who are actively rolling up at your club.

Send your stories and photos to media@bowlsqld.org

Come and Try Month - October

With September almost upon us, that can only mean one thing and that’s we have just over a month to plan our Come & Try days for October. Of course we can have Come & Try days at any time of the year, but October is the month Bowls Queensland highlights as an opportunity to showcase our clubs.

Come & Try days are a wonderful opportunity to let the community know everything our clubs have to offer but most of all, the opportunity to learn and try the game of lawn bowls. Many clubs highlight their knitting groups, mothers groups, card groups, all abilities groups, mental health groups and promote themselves as a great place for the community to meet.

Clubs can also highlight catering, bar/coffee facilities, gaming as well as what is on offer on different days of the week such as Jag the Joker, meat tray raffles, members draws as well as any entertainment that may happen regularly, or from time to time.

Many clubs have had successful Come & Try days in October and are now having these days on a more regular basis as they are a great way to attract new members/families to our club. One club that springs to mind is Buderim. Their Come & Try day last year saw hundreds turn up on the day, thanks to good planning. The day was supposed to finish at 2pm but was still going at 6pm. After the band started playing at 2pm, people were having a wonderful time playing around the band on the green. The members all enjoyed themselves and were blown away by the success of the day.

Remember, Bowls Queensland will assist with the promotion of the day by sending you some flyers to distribute. We all talk about dwindling numbers, but if we do the same thing tomorrow as we did yesterday and expect a different outcome, then we will be doing the same thing as always next year and wondering how we are going to attract members.

If you need any hints and tips don’t hesitate to contact a club in your area that has had a Come & Try to find out what they did to make the day a success. We are members of our club because we enjoy what clubs have to offer in a variety of ways, so let’s share what we love about our club with the community. Good Luck!